T24: Erdoğan: The Demonstrators in Taksim are not behaving honestly, I am asking who is my addressee?

Erdogan criticized the demonstrators and blamed the media. He said: “Take a look and notice the game being played here. There have been mistakes in the use of pepper gas, sure. However. the Topcu barracks will still be built.” Erdoğan, added that the entrance of the barracks could either be built as a mall or a city museum.

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Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan reacted against the protests held on the streets by tens of thousands in opposition to the construction project of Topcu Military Barracks and shopping mall. “Okay, there are mistakes in the use of pepper gas” said Erdoğan, “We will build Topcu Barracks, the police was there yesterday, they are there today, and they will be there tomorrow” he stated. Claiming that the demonstrators were “not behaving honestly”, Erdogan  asked:  “I would like to ask who my  addressee is”, and  declared that the entrance of Topcu Barracks could either be a shopping mall or a city museum. Despite the criticisms in regards to the mainstream media not portraying the reality about the demonstrations, Erdoğan suggested that the media was provoking these events and blamed the “web pages of CHP”, the main opposition party.

Erdoğan, made his first assessment about the Gezi Park resistance, which stirred up the whole country, during a talk he gave at the Plenary Session of the Turkish Exporters Assembly.

Here are some highlights from his talk:
The sector quadrupled in size over the past 10 years.
Me and my cabinet will continue to support you.
We are in a positive situation despite all the the global problems.
We paid off the IMF debt.
International credit rating agencies have increased Turkey’s credit scores.
Economic developments have confirmed our role as a regional power.
We have paid heavy prices as a nation each time law and democracy was suspended.

The opposition has to be as good as the government.

Within the system, the opposition must be at least as powerful as the government, and at the same level  in terms of quality.

They need to work at least as much as the government, and produce projects.
If the opposition is incapable of attaining the level of the government, it will be taken over byextremist fractions.
The Government can not accept any gaps, the opposition can not accept gaps either.
But we are witnessing big gaps.
The electors demand a qualified and high level method of governance from the parties they vote for.
We are witnessing serious provocations in society.

We can not admit the imposition of a majority on a minority.

I want to remind each and everyone of our 76 million citizens.  Turkey is a country in which the  parliamentary system operates like clockwork.
I am not claiming that the government chosen through a majority vote can  do whatever they wish. We did not accept the imposition of the majority on the minority until today. And we will not accept it from here onwards either.

The majority has not been taken into consideration throughout the history of Turkey. The majority was always regarded as a thickheaded man, busy scratching his potbelly.

Democratic reactions can be shown at the ballot box.

People who have problems with the practices of the government should raise their complaints through legislation.
The ballot box is the measuring stick.  Anyone in search of a result outside the box is after anti-democratic practices.
They are the ones sending their friends to hang.
Why was Menderes executed? What was the rationale behind it?
Didn’t we see the same thing during the military coup on September 12th ,1980?

You do not have the right to pursue unlawful actions.

Everybody in this country has the right to express their opinions, has the right to protest within the limits of law and voice their ideas. But they do not have the right to act unlawfully and damage others.

Trees are being cut, no one has the right to increase tension in Turkey.
We have witnessed how the opposition, incapable of developing effective policies, has been used by illegal organizations.
I am calling out everyone. I want everyone to see the game being played.
There are some protests about Gezi Park, what is the reason for this?
Trees are being cut, the Topcu Barracks will be rebuilt, a shopping mall will be rebuilt. The work being done in Gezi Park at the moment, has nothing to do with the Barracks. The Topcu Barracks project did not appear out of nowhere.

We are going to build the barracks.

Now, look! See the game thoroughly. Some protests about Gezi Park are being held during the last few days. What is the reason behind this? Trees are being cut. The Barracks will be built. There will be a shopping mall. What is being done in Taksim Gezi Park has nothing to do with the rebuilding of the barracks now. We will do it, it is not a project that appeared from nowhere. It has nothing to do with the street on Divan Hotel’s side, it is only 5-6 trees that are being cut. I said cut but that’s actually not the case, they’re only being uprooted.

Their goal is to take over the municipality

Their aim is an ideological one. First of all, they want to obtain the mayor post of the municipality. The opposition leader tells us to pull our police back. Police will be there today and tomorrow. It is an area which extreme fractions are trying to take over.


1 June 2013
Source: t24.com.tr